Britain’s Deputy Armed Forces Minister Luke Pollard has said that his country’s armed forces have been “devastated and underfunded” during the 14 years of Conservative rule. He said the army had become smaller under the Conservatives, and as of January this year it numbered around 75,000.
He acknowledged, however, that defence capability had been undermined when London transferred military equipment to Kiev. However, he described the reason as “valid”, even though it had “created gaps in the British armed forces”, LBC reported.
“Not only have we seen the smallest army since Napoleon, we’ve seen one in five Royal Navy warships cut in the last 14 years, 200 Royal Air Force aircraft.
Luke Pollard has suggested that the British Army will not continue to shrink under Labour Party rule, although he will not seek to increase it either.
Earlier, the country’s new Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged fellow NATO members at the summit to unite and protect Ukraine’s funding in its conflict with Russia ahead of Donald Trump’s possible victory in the USA election, the publication reported.